Walking
by walkwithme
Summary: DS because that's the way it should be! One shot Sam's upset and goes for a walk in the park alone, or is she?
1. Chapter 1

Hey there again, it's Walkwithme. I know it's been a long time, but life seems so crazy that there is hardly anytime to write anymore or do anything else enjoyable for that matter, especially with senior year starting in a few days. But here I am and here's another story. Read on!

Disclaimer: I'm poor; I don't own anything, especially Danny Phantom.

**Walking**

Sam walked down the leaf strewn path alone; she was seventeen with no where to go. There was something inside her that would not rest and lead her wandering steps to the park. The light was low, it was late evening but it had yet to grow dark as is accustom to hazy summer nights. The air was comfortable and a soft wind blew her hair around her face. Sam was feeling helpless. In her house she felt trapped with her thoughts and stayed with them there as long as she dared.

Danny.

He filled every corner of her mind and it hurt. Every time she thought of him a weight grew in her chest and expanded until she could hardly breathe and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop. Behind closed eyes she saw his smiling face and there was that feeling again, she was suffocating herself. Stepping out into the park, at least, she felt like she could breathe again.

She couldn't deny the way he made her feel and it was filling her up. They had been best friends; she wasn't sure when that started to change. At first she didn't want to believe it but now she lived with it in her chest. She could never forget it, but it was times like these when she could think of nothing else that she felt like she was the only person left on earth and the empty park only confirmed that. She loved Danny and it killed her that he didn't. Why didn't he? _Why should he?_ She thought in desperation.

Sam couldn't walk any farther. She stopped abruptly and shook her head trying to get rid of her thoughts, a few sparkling tears wet the ground. Breathing faster and raking a hand threw her hair Sam looked around and seeing nobody she let her hand fall and walked off the path and into the grass and trees of the park. She stopped in front of an old tree a considerable way in that had been sheltering unreturned loves long before her and sank to her knees, the odd tear slipping out. She felt safer here in the small circle of trees where she was hidden from the world. Sitting there watching the grass grow wet, she never felt more alone.

"Sam?" She looked up and there in front of her stood Danny with worry on his face and concern in his voice. "Are you crying?" he asked almost looking hurt himself.

Sam quickly wiped away her tears before glancing up briefly only to look back down again and gave a half hearted "No."

"Yes you are." He said with a small and just as half hearted smile as he sat down next to her. She was always the one to put on a brave face.

They did not speak and did not look at each other but at the small distance stretched out before them. Gathering courage Danny chanced a look and another question. "What's wrong?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." She said broken.

"Is it about what happened last night?"

Last night, the worst night of her life, the night she was made certain that Danny could never love her and years of loving him crashed around her head. They had been out, the three of them: she, Danny and Tucker. They were just walking out of a movie and into the warm summer night when Sam realized that she had left her jacket that her mother had forced her to bring inside the theater. Giving her excuse Sam ran back inside to grab the jacket, but not before giving one last happy glance to Danny who returned it with a smile that set her off flouting down the hall.

Things in the last couple of weeks seemed to be going right between the two of them; it gave her lover's foolish hope. Upon returning was when her world was smashed like a glass bottle. There was Tucker, there was Danny and there was Valerie with a hand on Danny's shoulder and captivating look in her eye. There was a sinking feeling in Sam's stomach as she watched Valerie speak amiably, her face lit up and laughing. But that's not what set her reeling back, it was what happened next.

Conversation apparently over, Valerie stood on tip toe and kissed Danny on the cheek and walked away. She couldn't see his face because he was turned away from her but she watched as he lifted his fingers to where her lips had been and watch her leave the cinema. Sam's mouth dropped open and her eyes became unfocused with gathering tears.

Danny hadn't mentioned his crush on Valerie Grey in years and Sam had assumed it had cooled down. But from the way it looked now it seemed like she was wrong. If it had been Paullina or anyone else Sam could have gotten mad and gotten over it because she knew that she was shallow and had nothing to offer, but Valerie, Valerie was everything Sam was not and watching this take place threw it all into sharp relief. How could Danny ever be happy with someone like her when he could have someone like Valerie? She might as well do them both a favor and stop trying. But it wasn't going to happen that quickly, she couldn't just drop these feelings she had been guarding for so long and walk right over there and pretend like she never cared. She needed to be alone, she couldn't face him.

Sam turned around and quickly walked back into the theater she had just exited and sat on the floor in the farthest corner of the now dark and empty room. And there she sat over whelmed and crying. She felt ashamed for every tear that fell but still she could not stop herself. After a short time her phone buzzed but she did not answer it and it rang again and again and again and each time the same thing came up on the caller id: Danny's cell. And here they sat now under a tree in the park.

"You scared me last night Sam," he said looking into her eyes for the first time "you know I didn't stop looking for you until I finally gave in and called your house and your mom told me you were there, late, but safe." Sam didn't answer.

"How did you find me here?" She asked inspecting the ground and trying to change the subject. "I didn't see anyone around when I turned off the path." At this Danny looked a little embarrassed.

"I uh, I've been walking with you the whole time." Sam tilted her head in confusion.

"You've been walking with me the whole time, were you…"

"Invisible?" He picked up her sentence "Yeah." He said looking very embarrassed now. "I hope you don't mind, it's just that I came to your house to see you…I had to tell you something," he paused here like he was waiting for a reaction but getting none from Sam moved on "and I saw you come out and I started following you, you looked upset."

Sam only looked at him and gave a tired sigh. "It's alright, I don't mind." They were quiet for a beat. "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" She decided that nothing worse could happen and that she would hear what Danny had to say even if it turned out to be an "I love you like my sister speech". But she got something much more unexpected.

"That I'm sorry, and I think I know why you're upset and I just—look Sam, if you think I don't care about you you're wrong I—I care about you more than anyone else."

She was taken aback by his forwardness; he was never that candid, about this sort of thing at least. "Danny I…" but she could think nothing to say. He stood and offered her a hand that she took and he pulled her to her feet.

"I don't care about Valerie anymore," he said "and I haven't for a long time. Now I'm not sure if I ever did."

"But you looked—" Sam started.

"I was surprised and that's all." She was starting to feel uncomfortable, not entirely sure where this conversation was going and not wanting to get her hopes up again.

"Sam you have to realize that this is really hard for me to say, we've been denying it for so long, I mean I have, I don't know about you, I hope you have, no wait that's, I mean, do you understand what I'm saying?" He wasn't making sense anymore.

She watched him as he stood there looking like he had something he wanted to say but no way of saying it, he looked distressed and she though she might give him a way out. "Here, whatever it is why don't you tell me later when you've had more time to think?" She said as kindly as she could feeling as horribly as she did and put a reassuring hand on his arm before turning to walk away.

But she didn't get far because when she touched him it was like he was electrified and the words found him and he abruptly blurted out "Sam I love you."

She froze not entirely sure she heard him correctly but all doubt was gone when he took another step towards her and looking down into her eyes repeated "Sam, I love you."

"Danny." His name came out almost like a sigh and in that he found the confidence to keep going and say everything that he had been holding in for so long, to reach out and touch her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," an arm snaked around her waist "I was afraid of what you'd say…or wouldn't say" he pulled her to him, their bodies touching, his breath on her neck. He leaned in with a smile and said the softest yet, "I love you."

Sam melted against him, he kissed her neck and she wove her arms around his feeling his kisses trail up to her jaw and it was her turn to tell him what minutes ago she felt like she couldn't. "I love you too Danny."

And then he kissed her lips slowly and softly at first but as she kissed him back she found herself with her back against the tree they had sat under before. Everything that was wrong before was now made right. She swore that some kind of beautiful music was released from her heart and joined with his to create a symphony that crashed in their heads and consumed everything.

When they finally parted smiling and breathless no words were spoken between them yet nothing was left unsaid. Danny took up Sam's hand and they began to walk back, together.

End

So there it is and I hoped you liked it! If you did I have other stories if you're interested so look me up! Now if you want to make me happy please review! Come on, you know you want to.

Walkwithme


	2. Chapter 2

I can't believe I forgot! It just occurred to me today that I never told you guys about the song. I wrote this story listening to the song "Over My Head" by The Fray and it totally put the story in the right context because that's where the emotion came from. I'm not sure how many of you guys actually care about this but for me as a writer it says a lot so I wanted to put it out there for anyone else who might be interested in this sort of thing. So if you can, listen to the song while you are reading this story and if you can't do that, here at least are the lyrics. Over My Head, The Fray I never knew I never knew that everything was falling through That everyone I knew was waiting on a queue To turn and run when all I needed was the truth But that's how it's got to be It's coming down to nothing more than apathy I'd rather run the other way than stay and see The smoke and who's still standing when it clears Everyone knows I'm in Over my head Over my head With eight seconds left in overtime She's on your mind She's on your mind Let's rearrange I wish you were a stranger I could disengage Say that we agree and then never change Soften a bit until we all just get along But that's disregard Find another friend and you discard As you lose the argument in a cable car Hanging above as the canyon comes between Everyone knows I'm in Over my head Over my head With eight seconds left in overtime She's on your mind She's on your mind Everyone knows I'm in Over my head Over my head With eight seconds left in overtime She's on your mind She's on your mind And suddenly I become a part of your past I'm becoming the part that don't last I'm losing you and its effortless Without a sound we lose sight of the ground In the throw around Never thought that you wanted to bring it down I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves Everyone knows I'm in Over my head Over my head With eight seconds left in overtime She's on your mind She's on your mind Everyone knows I'm in Over my head Over my head With eight seconds left in overtime She's on your mind She's on your mind

Thanks again everyone for reading!

Walkwithme


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